How To Organize & Display Kids’ Artwork
Houston schools have commenced and regardless of whether or not you were ready (if you’re like me, you were), you sent your babies back! Seeing how much kids grow mentally and physically each year is one of the most exciting parts of being a parent. Your kids learn so much each school year, and they have A LOT to show for it!
While some of their school work is best suited for the recycling bin, other pieces, especially artwork, are adorable momentums of your kids’ childhoods that fly by so quickly.
Whether it’s a finger-painted masterpiece or a hand-crafted sculpture, your children’s art holds a special place in your heart. However, keeping those special pieces often takes up too much space in your home. As your children’s creations pile up, you ask yourself:
How do I decide what to keep? What’s the best way to organize it? Is there a cute and easy way to display my kids’ artwork in my home?
Valuing Your Child’s Artwork
Encouraging creativity in children is an important part of their emotional development. Art offers numerous developmental benefits, from stress relief to improving fine motor skills. The more parents, caregivers, and teachers encourage artistic and creative expression, the more likely a child will enjoy doing it and feel confident enough to continue as they get older.
Displaying your child’s artwork can boost their self-esteem, reinforce their sense of accomplishment, and encourage them to continue exploring their creativity. It communicates that their efforts are valued and that their creativity matters. Of course, you can’t keep or display everything, so how do you decide which ones you do?
Deciding What Artwork to Keep
To keep your home organized, you need to manage the influx of school papers and creations. If you have a hard time throwing away your child’s schoolwork, here are a few strategies that can make your decision easier.
Set Criteria for Keeping Artwork
Not every piece needs to be kept forever. Establish criteria for what should be kept, such as:
Milestone pieces: Artwork that marks a significant moment in your child’s life, such as the first time they wrote their name or artwork with little hands and feet.
Unique expressions: Pieces that showcase your child’s unique perspective, creativity, or a special memory.
Skill progression: Artwork that shows growth in your child’s skills, such as more detailed drawings or advanced techniques.
Sentimental value: Pieces that hold personal significance, perhaps because they were made for a special occasion or gifted to a loved one.
Create a System for Tossing
It’s okay to let go of your child’s artwork. Consider these tips for what to toss:
Duplicates: If your child creates similar versions of the same piece, you could keep one and toss the rest.
Generic art: Coloring sheets or projects where every child in the class produced a nearly identical one are good candidates for tossing.
Art they don’t like: If your kid doesn’t like it or want to keep it, get rid of it.
Displaying Your Child’s Artwork
Displaying your child’s artwork doesn’t have to mean hanging it on your fridge. However, if that’s what works for your house, go for it! A few fun ways to display kids artwork that I’ve either helped clients implement or have seen are as follows:
Framed Galleries
Create a gallery wall by framing select pieces of artwork. You can choose matching frames for a cohesive look or mix and match different styles for a more eclectic feel. This is a great way to make your child’s artwork a permanent part of your home’s décor. You can use any frames, but I like these Kids’ Artwork Gallery Frames from Amazon. The frames have side slots, so you can insert the art. It’s easy to slip new artwork behind the current display, which makes rotation a breeze and helps with art storage. They come in several different sizes and colors and look adorable in a child’s room or playroom.
Art Rails or Clipboards
Art rails are a super cute and easy way to display your children’s artwork. I like this DIY solution from Where The Smiles Have Been blog. It doesn’t damage your walls and is so easy. Amazon also has several options like this Wire Picture Hanger for Kids’ Crafts. With this option, you don’t have size or shape constraints of frames and can connect artwork with clips or tape.
Digital Displays
The professional organizer in me loves this method, and if you don’t like storing paper, you’ll love it too! Take a picture of your children’s artwork and display it using a digital frame. Your child’s masterpieces will rotate on display, and you’ll have a digital archive of your child’s art, organized by date. Create digital folders for each child and grade level. You can, of course, choose whether you’d prefer to store or toss the originals. The Aura Mason digital photo frame was rated the best overall pick in PC Mag and is on sale now at Amazon!
Corkboards and Magnet Boards
Corkboards are great for art display. I love these no-nail pin boards from PotteryBarn Teen, there come in several cute patterns, won’t damage your wall, and are great for older kids. You can also use felt tiles or felt strips. They’re affordable, self-adhesive, and you can buy different colors and create fun patterns.
Magnet Boards are also a good option. I love the clean look of this Magnetic Glass Dry Erase Board. A traditional whiteboard also works, and there are several cute stainless steel options on Amazon.
DIY Art Books
Create an art book. You can purchase an art portfolio binder and slide the artwork in, or photograph your child’s artwork and printing it into a professionally bound photo book. This is a wonderful way to preserve their creations over the years, and your child will love flipping through them to see their progress.
Organizing & Storing Your Child’s Artwork
You, of course, can’t display everything and might not want to display anything, which is A-Ok! You can still keep and store your child’s artwork for any future walks down memory lane. A few ways I like to do it are:
Portfolio Storage
Buy a large, flat storage portfolio to keep the artwork you want to preserve. Store under the bed or in a closet and add to it throughout the year. Label the portfolios with your child’s name and the year. At the end of the school year, you can transfer it to a storage bin in the attic or garage.
Catch-All Baskets
For an easy temporary solution, get a decorative basket for each child that can be stored in a closet, pantry, or bedroom, and put the art you want to keep in the basket. At the end of the year, or whenever you have time, you can transfer the artwork in the basket into more permanent files. As you go through the basket, you will likely end up deciding on a few pieces to keep from the year and tossing the rest. This is a great way to quickly unload school folders and decide what you decide what you deem a keepsake later.
Digital Archiving
Create a digital archive. Take a photo of each piece and save in digital folders. This allows you to keep a permanent record of your child’s artwork without physical storage, and you can add comments to each file with additional details. Organize your folders by child’s name with subfolders for years.
Scrapbooking
If you enjoy scrapbooking, creating scrapbooks for your child’s artwork is a fun way to use pieces of their art to create a keepsake. You can create themed pages for different types of art, adding notes about the context or memories associated with each piece. Some schools already do this and send it home at the end of the year. If you save your child’s artwork, you could add to it or create your own.
Pro Tips From a Houston Professional Organizer:
- Decorative catch-all baskets located close to where you unload book bags are a great way to get your child’s school artwork (and other school work you might want to keep) out of their folders and off your counters. Go through it at the end of the school year and decide what you really want to keep.
- Only keep a handful of pieces from each year. Keep enough to fill a notebook or small file. You only need a few pieces of art or schoolwork to preserve memories and see the progression.
- If your children’s artwork will eventually be stored in a garage or attic, choose heat and pest-resistant storage bins or file cabinets as its final destination.
Involve Your Kids In The Process
Involving your kids in choosing which art to keep and how to display it is a fantastic way to spark their creativity, give them a sense of ownership, and teach them some valuable decision-making skills. Here’s how you can make this process fun, practical, and meaningful for everyone:
Let Them Help Choose What to Keep
Allow your child to participate in the decision-making process about what artwork to keep. This helps them develop their own sense of value and teaches them how to make choices. You can offer some parameters, such as saying, “Which two out of these five pieces would you like to keep?”
If you have a pile of art at the end of the school year, you could create a sorting system: “Keep,” “Maybe,” and “Recycle.” The “Keep” pile is for those pieces your kids love. The “Maybe” pile is for art they’re unsure about, and the “Recycle” pile is for the pieces that don’t hold much meaning to them anymore.
For younger kids, who might want to keep everything, you can help guide them through it by asking questions like, “Is this something you want to see every day?” or “Does this picture make you happy?”
Encourage Them to Curate Their Own Space
Give your child a designated space, such as a wall or bulletin board, where they can display their favorite pieces. Letting them curate their own space fosters independence and gives them a sense of ownership over their work.
Involve Them in Storage Solutions
Teach your child how to properly store their artwork, whether it’s placing it in a portfolio, creating a scrapbook, or organizing a digital archive. This can be a fun and educational activity that instills good organizational habits from a young age.
Celebrate Their Creations Together
Make it a tradition to celebrate your child’s artwork by regularly rotating displays, holding mini “art shows” at home, or even framing a particularly special piece as a gift for a family member. These rituals create lasting memories and reinforce the importance of creativity in your home.
Sentiment Without Clutter
Having a plan for how to handle your children’s incoming artwork will help you keep sentimental items from cluttering your space. You can honor your child’s creativity AND keep your home clutter-free!
It’s never too late to start. If you have piles of artwork or other sentimental items you need help going through and properly storing, or you need help setting up a children’s art display and filing system, contact us. We love helping Houston moms like you keep all your children’s beautiful milestones, creations, and memories neatly organized and preserved.
